super .338's

Looking into the possibility of doing a hi-po .338. I want to get 3100 FPS or better with a good 300gr pill. As I see it, my only real options are as follows:

.338/300 ultra improved - most likely lacking in enough umph to get me ther, but I may be wrong.

.338 LM improved - sounds promising, but may not have quite enough horsepower

.338/.378 weatherby - I HATE belted cases, even more so the double radius shoulder!. If this is my only option, I'll go with less HP thanks.

.338/416 Rigby improved - this sounds quite promising, but good brass may be a problem.

I am currently working on some experiments in extending barrel life to help improve the outlook for overbore fever. If things work out well, barrel life may become of significantly secondary performance.

The 338-300 RUM and 338 Lapua Imp will not get you 3100 fps even in extremely long barrels.

The only two you have listed that will get you what you want or close to it are the 338-378 and the 338-416.

If you are not a fan of the 338-378 double Rad shoulder, go with the 338 Kahn. This is baically the 338-378 Wby with a conventional 35 degree shoulder angle. Simply load standard loads in the 338-378 cases and shoot, out pops a 338 Kahn case. Holds about 7 grains more then the standard 338-378.

There is no way in hell I would put up with the work needed to neck down the 416 Rigby to 338 with the availability of the 338-378 case we have now. The two are identical in capacity on average and the Norma 338-378 case is good quality but a bit on the soft side.

This may limit you to less then 3100 fps with the 300 gr SMK in anything but very long barrels.

I have built several 338 Kahns and all perform very well. I think you may be expecting a bit much in velocity even with this case size in a portable barrel length.

If your going to go through the trouble of necking down the 416 to 338 you might as well go with one of the 338-408 Chey Tac wildcats such as my 338 AM. That will get you 3350 fps in 32" barrel length pretty easily.

All depends on what barrel length you want to use.

The smaller 338 magnums, anything 338-378 Wby and smaller are really very efficent for their case capacity. I would not be terribly worried about their barrel life unless you plan on alot of high volume shooting.

Personally, I do a lot of shooting on my own. I like to challenge myself, and get no end of thrill from seeing improvement in my own ability. I thought about getting into the BR scene for awhile, but don't have any time to travel. I live not far (5-10 minutes) from several places I can shoot quite happily at some pretty serious range, and so whenever I have the spare time, I throw the gear in the back seat and puch some paper.

It's kind of funny. When I first started shooting, it was just an extension of Whitetail hunting. None of the family and friends I used to shot with have put as many rounds downrange in their lifetimes as I did just last summer. Most of them think I'm nuts, chasing smaller groups when the groups I was turning out three years ago were more than adequate to kill deer. At that time, I was doing 1.5 to 3 inch 5 shot groups from a marlin lever gun at 100 yards. Since we rarely ever see, let alone shoot whitetail in the thick forests where I live past 50 yards, this is more than adequate for a good clean kill. I just went off the deep end once I started understanding accuracy and marksmanship, and havn't hit bottom yet!

If you want to stay away from a belted case and don't want to go through the trouble of necking down Rigby brass to 338 caliber, you could do what my Dad and I did. We went with A-Square's 338 Excalibur. Good quality brass and dies only cost $98 for a FL set (very similar to Hornady type dies). We had intended to use the 338-416 Rigby IMP but once we found out what a pain making the brass would be, we opted for the Excalibur which is essentially the same thing. Our cases have an unfired case capacity of 137.4 gr. where as an unfired 338-378 Weatherby is 128.1 gr. My Dad shoots 250 gr. Nosler Partitions at 3200 fps from a 26" barrel (near max). I plan on shooting 300 gr. Sierra MK out of mine and believe 3100+ fps is possible from my 37" barrel. Obtaining 3100+ fps with the Sierra may prove difficult unless you are using at least a 30" barrel with any of the cartridges listed including the 338-408 CheyTac. Getting to the 3100+ fps mark with a 300 Sierra requires burning lots of powder which needs barrel length to achieve high velocities. I hope to have my 338 Excalibur up and shooting by the summer. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

The 338 AM should easily push the 3300 fps level with a 30" barrel length. Very high 3200 fps levels as least as it will do 3350 fps in a 32" pipe.

The 408 case is still ALOT bigger then the Excalibur. The A-sqaure round is a great round, no doubt about it but its to bad they are so proud of their brass!!! It may be far more popular if you could get brass cheaper then it is currently running.